![Gossip - Lanka News [English]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidMdjdmkZNNmQMdiyVyjHG0DAsid1JQzX2Wn_k0MMWpx93YaFp4Hv9rnCw1uuJZY1H60dquhLJCfg_uJg-gEz_FRlG07NUtWUslmZMhWhnOnm3dUim4hjUuNto_KPJrByj4iyXdSXuctY/s1600-r/GOSSIP-LANKA+LOGO.png)
Addressing a function to mark the 65th anniversary of the founding of the Peoples Republic of China at the Cinnamon Grand in Colombo recently, the Chinese ambassador to Sri Lanka said that with bilateral relations reaching an all time best, high level visits were frequent and people to people contacts and cooperation in many areas had developed rapidly.
"In comparison to last year,the number of Chinese tourists visiting Sri Lanka has grown by 140 percent and for the benefit of both our peoples many new Chinese restaurants have opened up in Colombo",he observed.
According to the Tourism Development Authority, China has become the fastest growing market for Sri Lanka.It, continues to close in on the United Kingdom which still has a healthy lead next to India,the highest ranked nation.
Jianghao said that President Xi Jinping’s recent state visit to Sri Lanka, marked the first time a top Chinese leader had done so.
Following official talks, President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his Chinese counterpart had witnessed the finalisation of 27 agreements including an action plan on deepening strategic cooperation and pacts in the fields of economy and trade, infrastructure construction ,marine scientific research and culture and education,he noted adding that they had also announced the initiation of free trade negotiations, commissioned the final stage of the Norchcholai Coal Power Plant and attended the ground breaking ceremony of the Colombo Port City.
Emphasising that hard work was needed to ensure the consensus and agreements reached between the two sides were implemented,the ambassador said that joint efforts had resulted in the ancient Maritime Silk Route being revived and the opening up of new channels.
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